Cooking Bag With Removable Print Web

ABSTRACT

A cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cooked therein is disclosed. The cooking bag may include a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pocket therein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch. A removable printed film sheet may be affixed to a foil pouch exterior surface by a releasable adhesive. The removable printed film sheet may be separable from the foil pouch exterior surface by peeling the releasable adhesive without breaking the foil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere. The food item may then be cooked in the foil pouch on a grill, in an oven, on a stove or with another appropriate heat source.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to flexible packagingstructures and, more particularly, to foil cooking packages having aremovable print web with product information printed thereon.

BACKGROUND

To meet the desires of consumers to be able to purchase heat and servemeals that can be prepared more quickly than making meals from scratchwhile having the flavorful taste of home-cooked meals, food producerslook for packaging alternatives that may serve as both the packaging forthe food and the vessel in which the food is cooked. One alternativecurrently used is packaging food in foil cooking bags that can gostraight from the refrigerator to the stove, oven or grill without theneed to remove the food from the package and transfer the food toanother cooking vessel.

Packaging the food in foil cooking bags still carries the requirementsfor labeling the packaging with producer and product information,preparation instructions, nutrition information, UPC codes, pricinginformation and the like. For some foods, the labeling may be printeddirectly onto the outer surface of the foil cooking bag, but printedinformation on the portions of the foil cooking bag forming the sealscan be render illegible when the seals are formed and the foil isdeformed. Moreover, printing on foil can limit colors that can be usedto provide legible information, and seals of the foil cooking bags canlimit the amount of printable space available on the exterior of thefoil cooking bag. Where printing on the foil cooking bag is impractical,the foil cooking bag or bags may be repackaged within a box or othercontainer providing sufficient surface area for printing the productinformation. However, repackaging the foil cooking bag can increase thecost of producing the food product and, ultimately, the price charged tothe consumers.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

In one aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking bag enclosing a fooditem to be cooked therein is disclosed. The cooking bag may include afoil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pockettherein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the fooditem from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch, a releasableadhesive adhered to at least a portion of a foil pouch exterior surfaceof the foil pouch, and a removable printed film sheet affixed to thefoil pouch exterior surface by the releasable adhesive. The removableprinted film sheet may be separable from the foil pouch exterior surfaceby peeling the releasable adhesive without breaking the foil pouch andexposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for producing acooking bag having a foil pouch with a food item to be cooked therein isdisclosed. The food item may be disposed within a food pocket defined bya foil pouch interior surface of the foil pouch, and a removable printedfilm sheet may be affixed to a foil pouch exterior surface with areleasable adhesive allowing the removable printed film sheet to bepeeled from the foil pouch exterior surface after the cooking bag isproduced. The method may include laminating a printed film web to afirst foil web surface of a foil web with the releasable adhesive toform a composite web, wherein the first foil web surface will form thefoil pouch exterior surface, forming the composite web into a tube withthe first foil web surface and the printed film web on the outside asthe composite web is fed along a forming tube, and applying pressure andheat to portions of the foil web proximate oppositely disposed foilsheet lateral edges of the foil web that are dispose proximate eachother when the composite web is formed into the tube to form alongitudinal back seal. The method may further include applying pressureand heat at a first end of the foil pouch proximate a leading edge ofthe composite web to form a first end edge seal, depositing the fooditem through a second end of the foil pouch that is opposite the firstend, applying pressure and heat at the second end of the foil pouch toform a second end edge seal, and separating the cooking bag from thecomposite web.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, a cooking bag enclosing afood item to be cooked therein is disclosed. The cooking bag may includea foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining a food pockettherein for receiving and storing the food item and isolating the fooditem from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch. The foilpouch may include a foil sheet having a quadrilateral shape that isfolded and sealed to form a pillow pouch-type package having alongitudinal back seal, a first end edge seal, and a second end edgeseal. The cooking bag may further include a releasable adhesive adheredto at least a portion of a foil pouch exterior surface of the foilpouch, and a removable printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouchexterior surface by the releasable adhesive. The removable printed filmsheet may include product information for the food item printed on aprinted sheet inner surface that faces the foil pouch exterior surfacewhen the removable printed film sheet is affixed thereto. The removableprinted film sheet may be a single printed film sheet wrapped around thefoil pouch, and a pull tab portion at a corner of the removable printedfilm sheet may not be coated with the releasable adhesive and may not beadhered to the foil pouch exterior surface so that the removable printedfilm sheet is separable from the foil pouch exterior surface by graspingthe pull tab portion and peeling the releasable adhesive away from thefoil pouch exterior surface without breaking the foil pouch and exposingthe food pocket and the food item to the ambient atmosphere.

Additional aspects are defined by the claims of this patent.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an isometric front view of a pillow pouch-type cooking bag inaccordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is an isometric front view of a foil pouch and a printed filmsheet of the cooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an isometric back view of the foil pouch of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an isometric back view of the cooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken through line 5-5 of FIG. 1 of afood pocket, a first end edge seal and a second end edge seal of thecooking bag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken through line 6A-6A of FIG. 1 ofthe second end edge seal and a longitudinal back seal of the cooking bagof FIG. 1;

FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken through line 6B-6B of FIG. 1 ofthe first end edge seal and the longitudinal back seal of the cookingbag of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an isometric back view of the cooking bag of FIG. 1 with theprinted film sheet partially peeled from the foil pouch;

FIG. 8 is the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 with the printed film sheetpeeled from the foil pouch;

FIG. 9 is an isometric front view of a four-side-seal-type cooking bagin accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a front view of a composite web formed from a printed filmweb and a foil web in accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a back view of the composite web of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a front view of an alternative embodiment of a composite webin accordance with the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a composite web fabrication routine inaccordance with the present disclosure; and

FIG. 14 is a flow diagram of a cooking bag fabrication routine inaccordance with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A cooking bag in accordance with the present disclosure may include oneor more foil sheets folded and sealed to form a foil pouch, and one ormore removable printed film sheets adhered to a foil pouch exteriorsurface on one or both faces of the foil pouch. The foil pouch maydefine a food pocket having a food item disposed therein that will becooked in the foil pouch on a stove, in an oven or on a grill over anopen fire. Each removable printed film sheet may be attached to a foilpouch exterior surface of the foil pouch with a releasable adhesive thatwill allow the printed film sheet or sheets to be peeled off of the foilpouch exterior surface prior to cooking the food so that the printedfilm sheets are not exposed to the heat source. The product informationfor the food item may be printed on the printed film sheets to make thecooking bag more attractive to consumers than printing the informationdirectly on the foil pouch.

FIGS. 1-8 illustrate one exemplary embodiment of a cooking bag 10enclosing a food item 12 that is to be cooked therein, with a front faceof the completely fabricated cooking bag 10 being shown in FIG. 1.Referring to FIG. 2, the cooking bag 10 may include a foil pouch 14formed from a foil sheet 16, and a removable printed film sheet 18 thatis shown separated from the foil pouch 14. During the fabricationprocess, the printed film sheet 18 may be affixed to a foil pouchexterior surface 20 of the foil pouch 14 by a releasable adhesive suchas those describe further hereinafter. In the present embodiment, thefoil sheet 16 forming the foil pouch 14 may have a quadrilateral shape,and the foil sheet 16 may have been a portion of the foil web or acomposite web formed from a printed film web and a foil web during aprocess for manufacturing the cooking bag 10 such as that discussedfurther below.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the foil sheet 16 may be folded and sealed toform a pillow pouch-type package having a first end edge seal 22 acrossa first foil sheet end 24, a second end edge seal 26 across a secondfoil sheet end 28 opposite the first foil sheet end 24, and alongitudinal back seal 30 (FIG. 3) extending longitudinally down acenter of a back face of the foil pouch 14. Depending on the nature ofthe food item 12 and the effect of the cooking heat on an adhesive usedin the end edge seals 22, 26, it may be necessary or desirable to foldover and crimp portions of the first end edge seal 22 and the second endedge seal 26 to prevent opening of the foil pouch 14 when cooking thefood item 12. The longitudinal back seal 30 may be a lap seal formed byhaving a first foil sheet lateral edge 32 and a second foil sheetlateral edge 34 of the foil sheet 16 overlapping one another so thatnone of the foil material stands out from the back face of the foilpouch 14. Alternatively, the longitudinal back seal 30 may be a fin sealwhere the portions of a foil pouch interior surface 36 (FIGS. 1 and 2)proximate the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 are bonded together. Thefin seal may be folded over in one direction if desired to lay againstthe back face of the foil pouch 14, or may be left extending outwardlyfrom the back face of the foil pouch 14 in the form of a pinch seal.

The foil sheet 16 may be standard aluminum foil as is commonly known inthe flexible packaging and food preparation arts. The foil sheet 16 mayhave sufficient strength to allow the bond of the releasable adhesive torelease the printed film sheet 18 when a peel force is applied withouthaving the foil pouch 14 rupture and expose the food item 12 to theambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch 14. At the same time, thestrength of the foil sheet 16 may allow the consumer to readilypenetrate the foil pouch exterior surface 20 with a fork or knife forremoval of the food item 12 from the foil pouch 14. In variousembodiments, the foil sheet 16 may have a foil sheet thickness within arange of 0.5 mils-5.0 mils depending on the requirements for theparticular food item 12 stored therein.

Returning to FIG. 2, in the illustrated embodiment, the removableprinted film sheet 18 may be a single sheet of clear polyester (PET)film that may be wrapped around the foil pouch 14 and adhered thereto bya releasable adhesive. The printed film sheet 18 may have aquadrilateral shape corresponding to the shape of the foil sheet 16, andthe printed film sheet 18 may have been a portion of the printed filmweb or a composite web formed from a printed film web and a foil web.The printed film sheet 18 may have a first printed sheet end 40, asecond printed sheet end 42, a first printed sheet lateral edge 44 and asecond printed sheet lateral edge 46 that generally correspond to andalign with the first foil sheet end 24, the second foil sheet end 28,the first foil sheet lateral edge 32 and the second foil sheet lateraledge 34, respectively, when the printed film sheet 18 is affixed to thefoil sheet 16. In some embodiments, the printed film sheet 18 may havethe same dimensions as the foil sheet 16 so that the printed sheet ends40, 42 and the printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46 extend to and alignwith the corresponding foil sheet ends 24, 28 and foil sheet lateraledges 32, 34. In alternative embodiments, such as embodiments where theprinted film sheet 18 does not extend into the end edge seals 22, 26 andthe longitudinal back seal 30, the printed film sheet 18 may be smallerthan the foil sheet 16, and the printed sheet ends 40, 42 and theprinted sheet lateral edges 44, 46 may be disposed inwardly from thecorresponding foil sheet ends 24, 28 and foil sheet lateral edges 32,34.

Because the printed film sheet 18 is clear, product information such asa product name 50, a product weight 52, product nutritional information54, a UPC bar code 56 for the product, and other product and packaginginformation may be printed on a side of the printed film sheet 18 thatwill face the foil pouch exterior surface 20 when the printed film sheet18 is affixed to the foil pouch 14. If a colored or opaque PET film isused, the product information 50, 52, 54, 56 may be printed on a side ofthe printed film sheet 18 that will face away from the foil pouchexterior surface 20 so the printed information is visible to theconsumer. As with the foil sheet 16, the printed film sheet 18 may havesufficient strength to allow the bond of the releasable adhesive torelease the printed film sheet 18 when the peel force is applied withoutthe printed film sheet 18 tearing or deforming under the force. Invarious embodiments, the printed film sheet 18 may have a film sheetthickness within a range of 10 μm-30 μm.

FIGS. 1 and 4 illustrate the front face (FIG. 1) and the back face (FIG.4) of the completely fabricated cooking bag 10 as described above andwith the longitudinal back seal 30 being a lap seal. The cross-sectionalview of FIG. 5 is taken through the end edge seals 22, 26 at a pointremote from the longitudinal back seal 30. The cross-sectional viewillustrates the foil pouch interior surface 36 defining a food pocket 60within the foil pouch 14 for receiving and storing the food item 12. Theend edge seals 22, 26 and the longitudinal back seal 30 seal the fooditem 12 in the food pocket 60 and isolate the food item 12 from theambient atmosphere surrounding the foil pouch 14. For the sake ofillustration and clarity, the thicknesses of the foil sheet 16, theprinted film sheet 18 and the associated adhesives are not drawn toscale relative to the overall size of the cooking bag 10 in the variouscross-sectional figures presented herein.

A releasable adhesive 62 may by applied as appropriate to adhere theremovable printed film sheet 18 to the foil pouch exterior surface 20and allow removal of the printed film sheet 18 without rupturing thefoil pouch 14. For example, in the illustrated embodiment, thereleasable adhesive 62 may be flood coated onto a printed sheet innersurface 64 of the printed film sheet 18 that faces the foil pouchexterior surface 20 when the printed film sheet 18 is affixed thereto sothat substantially all of the printed sheet inner surface 64 is adheredto the foil pouch exterior surface 20. Alternatively, the releasableadhesive 62 may be pattern coated onto the printed sheet inner surface64 so that less than 50% of the printed sheet inner surface is adheredto the foil pouch exterior surface 20. For example, the releasableadhesive 62 may be applied to the printed sheet inner surface 64 onlyproximate the printed sheet ends 40, 42 and printed sheet lateral edges44, 46 so that an inner portion of the printed film sheet 18 is notaffixed to the foil pouch exterior surface 20. Additional alternativepattern coating strategies will be apparent to those skilled in the artand are contemplate by the inventor as having use in cooking bags 10 inaccordance with the present disclosure.

The releasable adhesive 62 applied to the printed sheet inner surface 64may be any appropriate adhesive having a bond strength that will securethe printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouch 14 as it travelsthrough the distribution chain to the consumer and is stored by theconsumer until the time that the foil pouch 14 is prepared to be placedon or in the heat source, while not forming a destructive bond so thatthe printed film sheet can be peeled from the foil pouch 14 withoutbreaking the printed film sheet, or breaking the foil sheet 16 andexposing the food item 12 to the ambient atmosphere. For example, thereleasable adhesive 62 may be a pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) formedfrom appropriate elastomeric compounds such as acrylics, butyl rubber,ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), nitriles, silicone rubber, styrene blockcopolymers (SBC), vinyl ethers and the like. These types of PSAs willtypically result in an adhesive fracture of the bond causing thereleasable adhesive 62 to separate from the foil pouch exterior surface20 that acts as the adherend. In other embodiments, the releasableadhesive 62 may be formed from a regular adhesive infused with acontaminant to form a low bond adhesive allowing the printed film sheet18 to be peeled off the foil pouch exterior surface 20. For example, adry bond adhesive may be infused with an inorganic material to achieve acontrolled failure mode wherein an adhesive fracture occurs as describedabove, or a cohesive fracture of the releasable adhesive 62 occurswithin the adhesive to release the printed film sheet 18 before the peelforce exceeds the strength of the printed film sheet 18 and the foilsheet 16.

A foil adhesive 66 may be applied on the foil pouch interior surface 36so that the end edge seals 22, 26 and the longitudinal back seal 30 maybe formed as the cooking bag 10 is fabricated. The foil adhesive 66 maybe a food grade adhesive that will not contaminate the food item 12, andmay be a thermoplastic heat activated coating in the form of polyamides,acrylics, urethanes and the like. In some embodiments, the foil adhesive66 is a heat seal coating that may be applied on a side of the foilsheet 16 that will become the foil pouch interior surface 36. The foiladhesive 66 may be pattern coated on the foil pouch interior surface 36proximate the foil sheet ends 24, 28 and the first foil sheet lateraledge 32 where pressure and heat will be applied to activate the foiladhesive 66 and form the end edge seals 22, 26 and the longitudinal backseal 30, respectively.

The cross-sectional views of FIGS. 5, 6A and 6B more clearly illustratethe interior of the foil pouch 14 and the layering of the foil pouch 14and the printed film sheet 18. Generally, the releasable adhesive 62 isdeposited between the foil pouch exterior surface 20 and the printedsheet inner surface 64 on the front and back faces when the releasableadhesive 62 is flood coated on the printed sheet inner surface 64. Wherethe releasable adhesive 62 is pattern coated, the releasable adhesive 62would not be seen between portions of the foil pouch exterior surface 20and the printed sheet inner surface 64 depending on the location wherethe cross-section is taken. The foil adhesive 66 is only disposedbetween facing portions of the foil sheet 16 at the end edge seals 22,26, and is substantially not present in the food pocket 60. As shown inFIGS. 6A and 6B, the foil adhesive 66 may be present between the foilsheet 16 and the printed film sheet 18 along the length of thelongitudinal back seal 30 when the back seal 30 is a lap seal.

When it is time to cook the food item 12, the printed film sheet 18 maybe separated from the foil pouch exterior surface 20 by peeling thereleasable adhesive 62 without breaking the foil pouch 14 and exposingthe food pocket 60 and the food item 12 to the ambient atmospheresurrounding the cooking bag 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the printed filmsheet 18 may have a portion at a corner of the printed film sheet 18that is not coated with the releasable adhesive 62 and forms a pull tabportion 68 that is not adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface 20.The consumer may be able to grasp the pull tab portion 68 and apply apeel force to overcome the bond of the releasable adhesive 62 andseparate the printed film sheet 18 from the foil pouch 14 as shown inFIG. 7. In the cross-sectional view of FIG. 8, the printed film sheet 18and the releasable adhesive 62 have been peeled from the foil pouch 14.As shown, an adhesive fracture may have occurred whereby the bondbetween the releasable adhesive 62 and the foil pouch exterior surface20 have been broken and no residual releasable adhesive 62 remains onthe foil pouch exterior surface 20. If a cohesive fracture occurs, or acombination of a cohesive fracture and an adhesive fracture, a residualamount of the releasable adhesive 62 may remain on the foil pouchexterior surface 20.

As mentioned above, the pillow pouch-type cooking bag 10 is an exemplaryembodiment, and other types of packages may provide foil pouches thatcan be filled with a food item and have a releasable printed film sheetaffixed thereto with product information for the consumer. For example,FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a cooking bag 80 having afour-side-seal foil pouch 82 formed by a first foil sheet 84 and secondfoil sheet (back not shown) joined by first end side seal 86, a secondend side seal 88, a first lateral side seal 90 and a second lateral sideseal 92 formed along a first foil sheet end 94, a second foil sheet end96 opposite the first foil sheet end 94, a first foil sheet lateral edge98 and a second foil sheet lateral edge 100 opposite the first foilsheet lateral edge 98, respectively. The foil sheets 84 may have aquadrilateral shape as shown, or may have other geometries (triangular,hexagonal, circular and the like) that may require corresponding numbersof side seals to join the foil sheets 84 and form the foil pouch 82. Theside seals 86, 88, 90, 92 may close off a food pocket (not shown)defined by the foil sheets 84 to isolate a food item (not shown) fromthe ambient atmosphere. A first printed film sheet 102 and a secondprinted film sheet (back not shown) may be affixed to each of the foilsheets 84 and be printed with the corresponding product information.Pull tab portions 104 (front shown) as discussed above may be providedon the printed film sheets 102 for applying a peel force to separate theprinted film sheets 102 from the foil pouch 82.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Fabrication of the pillow pouch-type cooking bag 10 may entail amulti-step process including forming a composite web from a printed filmweb and a foil web, and then using the composite web to form a pluralityof cooking bags 10. FIG. 10 illustrates one example of a composite web110 used to produce the cooking bags 10 with the longitudinal back seal30 being a lap seal and a single printed film sheet 18 being wrappedaround the foil pouch 14. The composite web 110 may be formed bylaminating a printed film web 112 to a foil web 114. The printed filmweb 112 may be configured with a continuous series of printed filmsheets 18 each having indicia such as the product information 50, 52,54, 56 discussed above printed on a printed film web inner surface ofthe printed film web 112 that will form the printed sheet inner surfaces64 and will be laminated to a first foil web surface 115 of the foil web114. Dashed lines 116 are added between adjacent to demarcate theconcurrent first printed sheet end 40 of one printed film sheet 18 andsecond printed sheet end 42 of an immediate downstream printed filmsheet 18. The dashed lines 116 added in the drawing figures for clarity,and may not necessarily be printed on the printed film web 112 duringthe fabrication process. However, the dashed lines 116 may be printed,and in some embodiments the dashed lines 116 may represent scoring ofthe printed film web 112 and/or the foil web 114 to facilitateseparation of the cooking bags 10 after fabrication.

The printed film web inner surface of the printed film web 112 may alsobe coated with the releasable adhesive 62 indicated by the shading onthe printed film web 112 in FIG. 10. In the illustrated embodiment, theinner surface of the printed film web 112 is flood coated with thereleasable adhesive 62 so that substantially all of the inner surface iscovered with the exception of the areas of the printed film web 112 atwhich the pull tab portions 68 of the printed film sheets 18 arelocated.

As mentioned above, the composite web 110 will be used to form cookingbags 10 having lap seals 30 on the back face. As shown, the printedsheet lateral edges 44, 46 extend to the corresponding foil sheetlateral edges 32, 34. Consequently, the portions of the printed filmsheets 18 proximate the second printed sheet lateral edges 46 will bedisposed within the lap seal 30 and adhered to the foil sheet 16 by thefoil adhesive 66 and may not readily separate without compromising thefoil pouch 14. Non-destructive separation of the printed film sheet 18from the lap seal 30 and the foil pouch 14 may be facilitated byproviding a laser score line 118 parallel to the second printed sheetlateral edge 46 and disposed inwardly far enough so that the laser scoreline 118 is outside the lap seal 30. The laser score line 118 may beconfigured to weaken the printed film sheet 18 proximate the lap seal 30so that the printed film sheet 18 yields at the laser score line 118before exceeding the strength of the lap seal 30 and the foil sheet 16.In alternative embodiments, the printed film web 112 may be narrowerthan the foil web 114 so that the second printed sheet lateral edge 46is disposed inwardly from the second foil sheet lateral edge 34 so thatthe second printed sheet lateral edge 46 is not part of the lap seal 30.

FIG. 11 shows a second foil web surface 119 on the reverse side of thefoil web 114 and the composite web 110, and in particular the side ofthe foil web 114 opposite the printed film web 112 that will form thefoil pouch interior surface 36. As discussed above, the foil adhesive 66is pattern coated on the foil pouch interior surface 36 to minimize oreliminate contact between the foil adhesive 66 and the food item 12. Thefoil adhesive 66 is applied along and on both sides of the dashed lines116 so that the end edge seals 22, 26 can be formed at both foil sheetends 24, 28 of each foil pouch 14. Additionally, as the first foil sheetlateral edge 32 will overlay the second foil sheet lateral edge 34, thefoil adhesive 66 is also applied to the foil web 114 along the firstfoil sheet lateral edge 32 so that the lap seal 30 may be formed.

FIG. 12 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a composite web 120wherein the releasable adhesive 62 is pattern coated on the innersurface of the printed film web 112 so that a smaller portion of eachprinted film sheet 18 is adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface 20.Additionally, the embodiment illustrates that the printed film sheets 18may be separable into multiple portions that may each be individuallypeeled form the foil pouch 14. For example, the foil pouch 14 may have afirst lateral pouch edge 122 and a second lateral pouch edge 124opposite the first lateral pouch edge 122 (FIGS. 2 and 3). The printedfilm web 112 may be laser scored with a first laser score line 126 thatwill be aligned along the first lateral pouch edge 122 and a secondlaser score line 128 that will be aligned along the second lateral pouchedge 124. The laser score lines 126, 128 may allow a printed sheet frontportion 130 of the printed film sheet 18 to be separated from a firstprinted sheet back portion 132 and a second printed sheet back portion134 and peeled from the foil pouch 14 independently from the printedsheet back portions 132, 134.

Each of the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 may include a pull tabportion 68 that is not coated with the releasable adhesive 62 andaffixed to the foil pouch exterior surface 20 to facilitate separationof the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 and independent removal fromthe foil pouch 14. In the pattern coating on the printed film sheet 18,the releasable adhesive 62 may be applied along the printed sheetlateral edges 44, 46, and on either side of the dashed lines 116 and thelaser score lines 126, 128 to secure each of the printed sheet portions130, 132, 134 to the foil pouch 14 even when they are separated fromeach other. In this embodiment, the longitudinal back seal 30 of thefoil pouch 14 may be a fin seal. Portions of the foil pouch interiorsurface 36 proximate the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 will be facingand sealed to each other so that portions of the printed film sheet 18are not disposed within the fin seal 30. Consequently, the laser scoreline 118 discussed above is not necessary in the present embodiment.

In a further alternative embodiment, the printed sheet portions 130,132, 134 may be provided on three separate printed film webs (not shown)that are laminated to the foil web 114 and placing the printed sheetportions 130, 132, 134 generally in the same locations as shown in FIG.12. The laser score lines 126, 128 would be replaced by spaces betweenthe printed film webs carrying the front printed sheet portion 130, thefirst printed sheet back portion 132 and the second printed sheet backportion 134. After the cooking bags 10 are formed, the consumer canremove each printed sheet portion 130, 132, 134 individually withouthaving to tear the printed film sheet 18 along the laser score lines126, 128 to separate the printed sheet portions 130, 132, 134 from eachother.

FIG. 13 is a flow diagram of a composite web fabrication routine 140that may be executed to the composite webs 110, 120 illustrated anddescribed above. Equipment and processes for performing the steps of theroutine 140 are known to those skilled in the art of manufacturingflexible packaging products, and consequently are not described hereinexcept as necessary for a complete understanding of the composite webfabrication routine 140. The routine 140 may begin a block 142 whereinproduct information and other labeling for the food item 12, such as theproduct information 50, 52, 54, 56 discussed above, may be printed on aprinted web inner surface of the printed film web 112 that will form theprinted sheet inner surface 64 of the printed film sheets 18. Theproduct information may be printed on the printed film web 112 using anyappropriate printing technique for applying a printing medium to a filmsubstrate. It is possible for the printing medium to have an effect onthe seal strength of the seals 22, 26, 30 of the cooking bag 10, so theprinting process may be configured to avoid applying the printing mediumin the locations on the printed film web 112 that will be located at theseals 22, 26, 30.

After printing the product information on the printed film web 112 atthe block 142, control may pass to a block 144 for application of thereleasable adhesive 62 to the printed web inner surface of the printedfilm web 112. The releasable adhesive 62 may be applied to printed filmweb 112 as necessary to ensure that the printed film sheet 18 willremain adhered to the foil pouch 14 until removed by the consumer. Thereleasable adhesive 62 may be applied in a flood coating as show in FIG.10 where the entire surface of the printed film web 112 is coated exceptat the pull tab portions 68. Alternatively, the releasable adhesive 62may be applied in a pattern coating such as that shown for the compositeweb 120 of FIG. 12 so that only strategic portions of the printed filmweb 112 are coated, such as portions proximate the printed sheet ends40, 42 and printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46. After the releasableadhesive 62 is applied at the block 144, control may pass to a block 146where the releasable adhesive 62 applied to the printed film web 112 isdried, such as by the application of heat to the surface bearing theprinting and the releasable adhesive 62.

With the printing and the releasable adhesive 62 applied to the printedfilm web 112, the printed film web 112 is ready to be combined with thefoil web 114. Control may pass to a block 148 where the printed film web112 is laminated to the foil web 114 to form the composite web 110. Theprinted web inner surface having the printing and the releasableadhesive 62 disposed thereon may be brought into contact with thesurface of the foil web 114 that will form the foil pouch exteriorsurface 20. In on embodiment, an impression roller and drum may pressthe printed film web 112 and the foil web 114 together as heat isapplied to cause the releasable adhesive 62 to adhere to the foil web114. The roller and drum may press across the entire width of theprinted film web 112 and the foil web 114 when the printed film web 112has been flood coated. Where only desired locations of the printed filmweb 112 are to be adhered to the foil web 114, such as when the printedfilm web 112 is pattern coated, a gravure press may be used to onlyapply pressure to the desired locations of the printed film web 112.

After the printed film web 112 is laminated to the foil web 114 to formthe composite web 110 at the block 148, control may pass to a block 150where the foil adhesive 66 may be applied to the surface of the foil web114 that will form the foil pouch interior surface 36 and that isopposite the printed film web 112. As discussed above, it may bedesirable to minimize or avoid contact between the foil adhesive 66 andthe food item 12 within the food pocket 60. Consequently, the foiladhesive 66 may be applied with a pattern coating onto the surface ofthe foil web 114 at the areas that will form the longitudinal back seal30, the first end edge seal 22 and the second end edge seal 26 as shownin FIG. 11. After the foil adhesive 66 is applied to the foil web 114 atthe block 150, control may pass to a block 152 where the foil adhesive66 may be dried using heat or other appropriate techniques. Applicationof the foil adhesive 66 to the foil web 114 is illustrated in theroutine 140 as being performed after the printed film web 112 islaminated to the foil web 114. However, the processing of blocks 150,152 may be performed before the lamination step of block 148 isperformed and before the webs 112, 114 are combined to form thecomposite web 110.

In applications where the printed film web 112 will be laser scored withthe laser score lines 118, 126 and/or 128, control may pass to a block154 where the laser scoring is performed on the printed film web 112.Where the laser scoring is performed after the printed film web 112 islaminated to the foil web 114, known techniques for scoring only theprinted film web 112 without reaching and penetrating the foil web 114may be performed. Alternatively, the laser scoring process of the block154 may be performed before the lamination step of the block 148 whenthe printed film web 112 is still separated from the foil web 114. Ofcourse, the block 154 may be omitted from the routine 140 where no laserscoring of the printed film web 112 is included in the design of thecooking bag 10. Ultimately, after the adhesives 62, 66 are applied, thelaser scoring, if any, is performed and the individual webs 112, 114 arelaminated into the composite web 110, control may pass to a block 156where the composite web 110 is rolled up onto a spool (not shown) wherethe composite web 110 may be stored until being used to form the cookingbags 10.

The composite web 110 fabricated during the routine 140 will be used toform a plurality of cooking bags 10. Various processes may beimplemented to convert the composite web 110 into the cooking bags 10.Of particular application base on the configuration of the cooking bags10 and the food item 12 contained therein are vertical form, fill andseal (VFFS) and horizontal form, fill and seal (HFFS) process andmachines. VFFS and HFFS machines will form, fill, close and seal thecooking bags 10 in one continuous or intermittent-motion operation. Thecomposite web 110 may be fed from the spool, folded to the desiredpillow pouch shape, and stabilized by heat sealing. The food item 12 maybe placed into each foil pouch 14, and the remaining open foil sheet end24 may be sealed.

FIG. 14 illustrates an exemplary cooking bag fabrication routine 160that may be implemented for the cooking bags in either a VFFS machine ora HFFS machine. The routine 160 may begin at a block 162 where a leadingend of the composite web 110 is unrolled from the spool and formed intoa tube. In the following discussion, the second foil sheet end 28 andthe second printed sheet end 42 travel through the machine ahead of thefirst foil sheet end 24 and the first printed sheet end 40. However, thesame routine 160 may be performed with the first foil sheet end 24 andthe first printed sheet end 40 traveling through the machine first. Thecomposite web 110 may be wrapped around a forming tube with the foilpouch interior surface 36 facing the forming tube and the printed filmweb 112 on the outside of the forming tube. The foil sheet lateral edges32, 34 and the printed sheet lateral edges 44, 46 being brought intoproximity as the composite web 110 is wrapped around the forming tube.The lateral edges 32, 44 may overlap the lateral edges 34, 46 if thelongitudinal back seal 30 will be a lap seal, or may have correspondingportions of the foil pouch interior surface 36 facing each other if theseal 30 will be a fin seal.

As the composite web 110 travels along the forming tube, control maypass to a block 164 where the longitudinal back seal 30 is formed forthe cooking bag 10. For example, a vertical heat-sealing bar maycompress the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 between the bar and theforming tube and apply heat to melt the foil adhesive 66 at the firstfoil sheet lateral edge 32 and form a lap seal. In contrast, a fin sealmay be formed by clamping the foil sheet lateral edges 32, 34 with apair of vertical heat-sealing bars and melting the foil sheet lateraledges 32, 34 together.

Downstream from the vertical heat-sealing bar(s) and an end of theforming tube, control may pass to a block 166 where the second end edgeseal 26 of the cooking bag 10 may be formed. A horizontal heat-sealingbar may create the second end edge seal 26 by clamping across the secondfoil sheet end 28 and applying heat to melt the foil adhesive 66 appliedproximate the second foil sheet end 28. At the same time, the horizontalheat-sealing bar may be creating the first end edge seal 22 of thecooking bag 10 that is immediately downstream and shares the dashed line116, and a cutter may cut along the dashed line 116 to separate thedownstream cooking bag 10 from the composite web 110.

With the longitudinal back seal 30 and the second end edge seal 26formed and the foil pouch 14 partially formed, control may pass to ablock 168 where the food pocket 60 may be filled with the food item 12.The precise process for filling the food pocket 60 may be dictated bythe nature of the food item 12. For a piece of meat that may be pre-cutto a designated unit weight for the cooking bag 10, the piece maydropped or lowered into the foil pouch 14 through the first foil sheetend 28. Alternatively, a cumulative product weight may be required forfood items 12 such as meatballs, chicken wings, chicken nuggets and thelike where the weights of multiple pieces will total to the designatedunit weight for the cooking bag 10. The food items 12 may be accumulatedand pre-measured by an appropriate weighing system and then poured orotherwise deposited into the foil pouch 14, or the sealed second foilsheet end 28 may be lowered onto a precision weighing table and theproduct to be bagged may be dispensed through the forming tube and intothe foil pouch 14 of the cooking bag 10 until the gross weight of theproduct-filled cooking bag 10 is reached. Additional product measuringand deposited methods may also be used to fill the foil pouch 14.

After the prescribed amount of the food item 12 is deposited into thefoil pouch 14, control may pass to a block 170 where the first end edgeseal 22 may be formed to completely close the foil pouch 14 and isolatethe food item 12 from the ambient atmosphere surrounding the cooking bag10. The horizontal heat sealing bar used to form the second end edgeseal 26 may be clamped across the first foil sheet end 24 and apply heatto melt the foil adhesive 66 applied proximate the first foil sheet end24. At the same time, the horizontal heat-sealing bar creates the secondend edge seal 26 of the cooking bag 10 that is immediately upstream andshares the dashed line 116.

After the first end edge seal 22 is formed or at the same time, controlmay pass to a block 172 where the completed cooking bag 10 is separatedfrom the upstream cooking bag 10 and the composite web 110. The cuttermentioned above may cut along the dashed line 116 to separate thecompleted cooking bag 10 from the composite web 110. If furtherreinforcement of the end edge seals 22, 26 is necessary based on thecharacteristics of the food item 12 and the foil pouch 14, control maypass to a block 174 where an appropriate mechanism may fold and crimpthe end edge seals 22, 26 so that a force greater that the forcenecessary to break the bond of the foil adhesive 66 at the end edgeseals 22, 26, may be necessary to open the ends of the foil pouch 14.

The cooking bags 10, 80 in accordance with the present disclosureprovide packaging allowing consumers purchase and prepare heat and servemeals without necessarily having substantial additional packagingbearing product information that may not readily be printed and readwhen printed directly on foil packaging materials. The printed filmsheet 18 affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface 20 may providesubstantially all information regarding the food product and itspreparation that may have previously been printed on a box or flexiblepackage in which the foil pouch 14 would have been sold. The arrangementof materials in the cooking bags 10, 80 also allows for separation ofrecyclable materials (foil sheet 16) from potentially non-recyclablematerials (printed film sheet 18) for appropriate disposal of each typeof material.

While the preceding text sets forth a detailed description of numerousdifferent embodiments, it should be understood that the legal scope ofprotection is defined by the words of the claims set forth at the end ofthis patent. The detailed description is to be construed as exemplaryonly and does not describe every possible embodiment since describingevery possible embodiment would be impractical, if not impossible.Numerous alternative embodiments could be implemented, using eithercurrent technology or technology developed after the filing date of thispatent, which would still fall within the scope of the claims definingthe scope of protection.

It should also be understood that, unless a term was expressly definedherein, there is no intent to limit the meaning of that term, eitherexpressly or by implication, beyond its plain or ordinary meaning, andsuch term should not be interpreted to be limited in scope based on anystatement made in any section of this patent (other than the language ofthe claims). To the extent that any term recited in the claims at theend of this patent is referred to herein in a manner consistent with asingle meaning, that is done for sake of clarity only so as to notconfuse the reader, and it is not intended that such claim term belimited, by implication or otherwise, to that single meaning.

What is claimed is:
 1. A cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cookedtherein, comprising: a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surfacedefining a food pocket therein for receiving and storing the food itemand isolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding thefoil pouch; a releasable adhesive adhered to at least a portion of afoil pouch exterior surface of the foil pouch; and a removable printedfilm sheet affixed to the foil pouch exterior surface by the releasableadhesive, wherein the removable printed film sheet is separable from thefoil pouch exterior surface by peeling the releasable adhesive withoutbreaking the foil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food itemto the ambient atmosphere.
 2. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein thefoil pouch comprises a foil sheet having a quadrilateral shape that isfolded and sealed to form a pillow pouch-type package having alongitudinal back seal, a first end edge seal, and a second end edgeseal.
 3. The cooking bag of claim 2, wherein the longitudinal back sealis one of a lap seal and a fin seal.
 4. The cooking bag of claim 2,wherein portions of the first end edge seal and the second end edge sealare folded over and crimped to reinforce the first end edge seal and thesecond end edge seal.
 5. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the foilpouch comprises a first foil sheet and a second foil sheet each having aquadrilateral shape with a first foil sheet end, and a second foil sheetend opposite the first foil sheet end, a first foil sheet lateral edgeand a second foil sheet lateral edge opposite the first foil sheetlateral edge, wherein a first end edge seal is formed proximate thefirst foil sheet ends, a second end edge seal is formed proximate thesecond foil sheet ends, a first lateral edge seal is formed proximatethe first lateral edges and a second lateral edge seal is formedproximate the second lateral edges, with the first lateral edge seal,the second lateral edge seal, the first end edge seal and the second endedge seal isolating the food pocket and the food item from the ambientatmosphere.
 6. The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the releasableadhesive comprises a pressure sensitive adhesive.
 7. The cooking bag ofclaim 1, wherein the releasable adhesive comprises a contaminant infusedadhesive containing a contaminating material promoting cohesivefracturing of the contaminant infused adhesive and separation of theremovable printed film sheet from foil pouch exterior surface the beforebreaking of the foil pouch and the removable printed film sheet.
 8. Thecooking bag of claim 1, wherein the removable printed film sheetincludes product information for the food item printed on a printedsheet inner surface that faces the foil pouch exterior surface when theremovable printed film sheet is affixed thereto.
 9. The cooking bag ofclaim 1, wherein the removable printed film sheet comprises a singleprinted film sheet wrapped around the foil pouch.
 10. The cooking bag ofclaim 9, wherein the foil pouch has a first lateral pouch edge and asecond lateral pouch edge opposite the first lateral pouch edge, andwherein the single printed film sheet has a first laser score linealigned along the first lateral pouch edge and a second laser score linealigned along the second lateral pouch edge so that a printed sheetfront portion of the single printed film sheet is separable from aprinted sheet back portion of the single printed film sheet andseparable from the foil pouch exterior surface independently from theprinted sheet back portion of the single printed film sheet.
 11. Thecooking bag of claim 1, wherein the releasable adhesive is flood coatedon a printed sheet inner surface of the removable printed film sheetthat faces the foil pouch exterior surface when the removable printedfilm sheet is affixed thereto so that substantially all of the printedsheet inner surface is adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface. 12.The cooking bag of claim 1, wherein the removable printed film sheetcomprises a pull tab portion at a corner of the removable printed filmsheet that is not coated with the releasable adhesive and is not adheredto the foil pouch exterior surface so that the pull tab portion isgraspable and pullable to overcome a bond of the releasable adhesive andseparate the removable printed film sheet from the foil pouch.
 13. Thecooking bag of claim 1, wherein the releasable adhesive is patterncoated on a printed sheet inner surface of the removable printed filmsheet that faces the foil pouch exterior surface when the removableprinted film sheet is affixed thereto so that less than 50% of theprinted sheet inner surface is adhered to the foil pouch exteriorsurface.
 14. A method for producing a cooking bag having a foil pouchwith a food item to be cooked therein disposed within a food pocketdefined by a foil pouch interior surface of the foil pouch, and aremovable printed film sheet affixed to a foil pouch exterior surfacewith a releasable adhesive allowing the removable printed film sheet tobe peeled from the foil pouch exterior surface after the cooking bag isproduced, the method comprising: laminating a printed film web to afirst foil web surface of a foil web with the releasable adhesive toform a composite web, wherein the first foil web surface will form thefoil pouch exterior surface; forming the composite web into a tube withthe first foil web surface and the printed film web on the outside asthe composite web is fed along a forming tube; applying pressure andheat to portions of the foil web proximate oppositely disposed foilsheet lateral edges of the foil web that are dispose proximate eachother when the composite web is formed into the tube to form alongitudinal back seal; applying pressure and heat at a first end of thefoil pouch proximate a leading edge of the composite web to form a firstend edge seal; depositing the food item through a second end of the foilpouch that is opposite the first end; applying pressure and heat at thesecond end of the foil pouch to form a second end edge seal; andseparating the cooking bag from the composite web.
 15. The method ofclaim 14, wherein applying pressure and heat to form the longitudinalback seal comprises applying pressure and heat to the portions of thefoil web proximate the oppositely disposed lateral edges of the foil webto form one of a lap seal and a fin seal.
 16. The method of claim 14,wherein laminating the printed film web to the foil web comprises:printing product information for the food item on a printed sheet innersurface that will face the foil pouch exterior surface when thecomposite web is formed; applying the releasable adhesive to the printedsheet inner surface; and feeding the printed film web and the foil webtogether and applying pressure forcing the printed film web and the foilweb together and causing the releasable adhesive to adhere the printedfilm web to the foil web.
 17. The method of claim 14, wherein the foilpouch interior surface is formed by a second foil web surface, and themethod comprises applying a foil adhesive to the second foil web surfaceat areas that will form the longitudinal back seal, the first end edgeseal and the second end edge seal prior to applying pressure and heat toform the longitudinal back seal.
 18. The method of claim 14, comprisinglaser scoring the printed film web to form at least one laser score linethat is parallel to lateral edges of the printed film web so that theremovable printed film sheet from the printed film web on the cookingbag may be peeled from the foil pouch in multiple printed sheet portionsby separating the printed sheet portions at the at least one laser scoreline.
 19. A cooking bag enclosing a food item to be cooked therein,comprising: a foil pouch having a foil pouch interior surface defining afood pocket therein for receiving and storing the food item andisolating the food item from an ambient atmosphere surrounding the foilpouch, wherein the foil pouch comprises a foil sheet having aquadrilateral shape that is folded and sealed to form a pillowpouch-type package having a longitudinal back seal, a first end edgeseal, and a second end edge seal; a releasable adhesive adhered to atleast a portion of a foil pouch exterior surface of the foil pouch; anda removable printed film sheet affixed to the foil pouch exteriorsurface by the releasable adhesive, wherein the removable printed filmsheet includes product information for the food item printed on aprinted sheet inner surface that faces the foil pouch exterior surfacewhen the removable printed film sheet is affixed thereto, wherein theremovable printed film sheet is a single printed film sheet wrappedaround the foil pouch, wherein a pull tab portion at a corner of theremovable printed film sheet is not coated with the releasable adhesiveand is not adhered to the foil pouch exterior surface so that theremovable printed film sheet is separable from the foil pouch exteriorsurface by grasping the pull tab portion and peeling the releasableadhesive away from the foil pouch exterior surface without breaking thefoil pouch and exposing the food pocket and the food item to the ambientatmosphere.
 20. The cooking bag of claim 19, wherein the foil pouch hasa first lateral pouch edge and a second lateral pouch edge opposite thefirst lateral pouch edge, and wherein the single printed film sheet hasa first laser score line aligned along the first lateral pouch edge anda second laser score line aligned along the second lateral pouch edge sothat a printed sheet front portion of the single printed film sheet isseparable from a printed sheet back portion of the single printed filmsheet and separable from the foil pouch independently from the printedsheet back portion of the single printed film sheet.